'Dolittle', '1917' and 'Jojo Rabbit' releases cancelled in China over coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak in China is continuing to affect the movie industry, with news that a swathe of movie releases are being scrapped.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Robert Downey Jr Dolittle movie, Sam Mendes's BAFTA winning 1917 and Nazi satire Jojo Rabbit have all been pulled.

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The reboot of Hellboy was also slated for the end of February, but has also been axed.

Other movies that are due out at the same time, including Marriage Story and the Sonic The Hedgehog movie, are said to be staying in place for the time being, but may also be scrapped.

Word from film regulators in Beijing is that domestic films that had been due for February release have also been postponed.

The move will bring further financial woe to Dolittle, which has bombed at the worldwide box office, with income from the movie's Chinese release hoped to mitigate some of its losses.

It follows news that the majority of the country's 70,000 cinemas have been closed following the outbreak of the virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, central China.

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Chinese authorities have also announced that the casinos in Macau would also close for two weeks.

As of Monday, a confirmed figure of 20,438 people have contracted the virus, causing 427 deaths.

Cases have been confirmed in 25 countries, with the World Health Organization likely to confirm its pandemic status in the coming days.